Process of treating jute fibers



exposed to the dam 5 two different steps.

Patented Oct. 25, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOHN B. HILSON, FKANSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO NYLON CORPORA- 'I 'ION, OFPHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE raocnss or ranarmoaura mans Io Drawing.

This invention relates to the process of treating 'ute fibers and hasfor its object to change t e characteristics of jute fibers so that theywill resemble the characteristics of other vegetable fibers such ascotton or the like, or animal fibers such as wool or hair or even silkin order that the ute may be blended with these other vegetable oranimal fibers to be carded and spun without snapping when .50 twistedand be dyed when so blended without a noticeable trace or distinctionbetween the jute fibers and the animal or vegetable fibers with whichthe are blended.

A further ob ect of this invention is to con- 3 dition the jute fibersso that the? maiebe dyefd1 e rs suc by many of the dyes used on ot r fias wool or cotton.

A still further object of this invention is to cause the jute fibers tohave a longer life when weather which ordinarily rots fibers of t ischaracter.

A still further object of this invention is to cause the fibers to feltmore closely together in the fulling operation on the cloth, making amore compact and soft fabric whenfim'shed.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the useof a chemical composition which has been disclosed in m co-pendingapplication Serial No. 121,740,

"" filed Jul 10, 1926, and the subjecting of this fiber an chemicalcomposition to certain mechanical operations.

The methods of treating jute which are in common existence today, areaccomplished by The first, is that of saponification by which the gumsand oils in the jute are separated by an alkali such as soda ash, limewater or resin soap'and then by decolorization which is accomplished byan oxidization of the fibers the oxygen being usually liberated frombleaching powders. B this process a certain brownish portion of t e jutefibers is removed from them.

But it is found that this process does not permit of the blending of thefibers with wool or Application filed April 25, 1929. Serial No.858,165.

hair so that they may be conveniently dyed.

moved. The chemical composition which I use I have found convenienttoform by the following steps.

Mixture 1. Dilute 1 pound of sulphurous acid with 8 pounds'of water, tothis sal soda (sodium carbonate) is added until no effervescence isnoticeable.

Mixture 2. Heat 2 pounds of animal fat to 135 F. and stir in 2 poundschloride of lime and permit to cool to normal.

Mixture 3. Dissolve 2 pounds of sodium hydroxide with 8 pounds of water.Permit to cool to normal.

Mixture 1, which is largely sodium sulphite and sodium sulphate is addedto mixture 2 and stirred in quickly while the mixture is heated tosubstantially 135 Fahrenheit and mixture 3 of sodium hydroxide isstirred in and the temperature raised to substantially 140 F. This isthe chemical composition I use and is about the consistency of cream.This chemical composition is dey scribed at greater detail in myco-pending application above referred to and can be made in advance insuch quantities as is desirable and when it is desired to process thejute fibers I prepare a bath substantially as follows:

100 gallons of water is heated to 120 F. to

which is added 10' pounds of my chemical opened or the fibers separatedone from another.

These fibers are placed in the bath and stirred in such a way as to mixthe precipitated portions of my chemical with the. dissolved portions ofthe bath and also to cause the fibers to be in intimate contact withthese precipitated portions as well as the dissolved portions. In thestirring I find it desirable to raise the fibers out of the bath toexpose them to the air which I accomplish by use of a stock dyingmachine and let them drop back again into the bath. During this stirringoperation the bath is raised from 120 Fahrenheit to between 185 F. to190 F. and the fibers are stirred in this manner for approximately onehalf I hour. After this length of time the bath is drawn off from thefibers and while the fibers and the bath container are hot, I fill thecontainer with cold water during which time I keep the container coveredto keep in the heat and steam that is formed. The cold water which isadded in this manner tends to set the saponified animal fat on to thefibers. The procedure thus far, is sufiicient for the processing of thejute if the fibers are to be later blended with certain kinds of animalor vegetable fibers which are of a greasy or oily nature, in which casethe fibers are dried. But if these fibers to which the jute is to beblended are notof the required greasy nature the further following stepin treating the jute necessary.

The bath of cold water which is added is heated to 120 F. and then 1gallon of a composition composed as follows is added: 1 pound of theabove composition chemical; 3 pounds of'water; 3 pounds of ahypochlorite. This bath is then heated to 185 F. and continued at suchtemperature for 15 to 20 minutes. The bath is then run ofi, the fibersrinsed, the water extracted in an extracting machine and the fibersallowed to dry. The fibers thus processed including this second bathstep may be blended with any of the animal or vegetable fibers abovementioned regardless of whether they are of cer tain characteristicssuch as of a greasy nature or not.

I have found that it is sometimes desirable in treating jute fibers toincrease the amount of hypochlorite to 4 pounds instead of 3, as abovementioned. However, care must be taken in the use of this hynochloritenot to get the same too strong so that it will bleach the fibers as suchstrength will prevent them from taking a dye evenly.

I have mentioned above that if the jute is to be blended with certainfibers the second bath treatment may be eliminated and in order tosuccessfully accomplish this blending the jute must be put through anopener with the fibers with which the jute is to be blended, and thefiber with which the'jute must be blended must be of a greasy naturesuch as greasy wool or the like before the same has been scoured andwashed. After thejute is put through the opener with the fibers to whichit is to be blended, for example wool, the jute and wool must be washedin the same bath. And then the fibers after this washing may be workedtogether under the same system as wool is worked under the present knownmethods. The jute thus blended'will take many of the same dyes as thefibers with which it is blended.

The jute fibers after treatment with my process are of a lighter colorthan the jute waste or jute fibers before processing. The brown coloringmaterial has. been either chemically or mechanically removed from thefibers and the fibers have been materially cleared up in theirappearance. I do not find, however, that the quantity of cellulose hasmaterially been changed before or after processing.

Having thus described one illustrative embodiment of my invention andthe best mode known to me for carrying out my method, I desire it to beunderstood that although specific terms are employed, they are used in ageneric and descriptive sense and not for the purpose of limitation, thescope of the invention being defined and limited only by the terms ofthe appended claims.

I claim:

1. The process of treating jute fibers including subjecting the fibersto a warm chemical bath containlng soap, alternately lifting andsubmerging the fibers therein and raising the temperature of the bath toa relatively hot temperature, and withdrawing the bath from the fibersand subjecting them immediately while hot to a cold water bath.

2. The process of treating jute fibers including subjecting the fibersfor about onehalf hour to a chemical bath, containing soap atsubstantially 120 F., stirring the bath to alternately lift and submergethe fibers, and raising the temperature of the bath to substantially185, withdrawing the bath from the fibers and. subjecting themimmediately while hot to a cold water bath.

3. The process of treating jute fibers including subjecting the fibersfor about onehalf hour to a chemical bath containing soap, atsubstantially 120 F., raising the temperature of the bath tosubstantially 185 F., withdrawing the bath from the fibers andsubjecting them immediately while hot to a cold water bath and thenrepeating the above steps with a smaller quantity of same chemical inthe bath with the addition of a hypo chlorite and then drying.

4. The process of treating jute fibers including subjecting the fibersto an aqueous bath including soap, calcium chloride, chlorine, andsodium hydroxide, gradually raismg the temperature of the bath to a hottemperature and stirring the fibers and bath to Ill.

alternately lift and submerge the fibers in the bath, drawing off thehot bath from the fibers immediatel and subjecting the fibers while hotto a col water bath.

5. The process of treating jute fibers including subjecting the fibersto an aqueous bath including soap, and a bleaching agent, graduallyraising the temperature of the bath and stirring the bath and fibers toalternately lift and submerge the fibers in the bath, drawing off thebath from the fibers and subjecting them immediately while hot to a coldwater bath.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

JOHN "R. MILSON.

